Laura looked down at the table-top, wondering how she was going to get through this without breaking down.
‘I’m sure your family were pleased to see you,’ she said. ‘Was your mother suitably surprised with her party?’
‘She appeared to be.’ Liam smiled indulgently. ‘Although I’m sure she knew exactly what was going on. My mother is a woman who sees a great deal that isn’t actually said,’ he replied appreciatively. ‘She saw the photographs of the two of us in the newspapers,’ he added gruffly.
Laura winced. Oh, no, she hadn’t given a thought to the fact Liam’s family might see them too. And wonder… ‘Did your family give you a hard time over them?’ she attempted to tease.
He shrugged broad shoulders, having discarded his outer coat, wearing a black shirt and blue denims. ‘Not particularly. I think my mother took one look at me and warned them off the subject. She would like to meet you,’ he added gently.
Laura took in a hard breath. ‘Didn’t you explain to her that those stories in the newspapers were just publicity nonsense dreamed up by the reporters?’
Liam’s mouth quirked into a smile. ‘There would have been no point; my mother has always been able to tell when I’m lying!’
Laura raised startled lids, those different coloured eyes, one blue and one green, shining brightly with confusion.
Liam shrugged. ‘Of course, she doesn’t realise you’re the same Laura from eight years ago yet, but—’
‘Your mother knew about me then?’ Laura gasped, her eyes wide.
‘Oh, yes, she knew.’ He nodded slowly.
‘But—’
‘Here we are.’ A happy Bobby bounced back into the room with his kite. ‘Can Liam and I go outside for a while Mummy?’
Almost as if Liam were Bobby’s own age, and the two of them were going out to play in the garden!
‘If Liam wants to,’ she answered non-committally.
Liam stood up, grinning. ‘I’ve thought of doing nothing else the last three days!’
Somehow Laura found that hard to believe, but if it made Bobby happy—which it most assuredly did, as his face lit with excitement when he and Liam went outside—then who was she to question the statement?
Besides, she was glad of this brief respite. Too much seemed to be happening too soon. And once Liam learnt how she had deceived him about Robert and Bobby it might just be going nowhere!
Liam had told his mother about her eight years ago…
Laura found that incredible. Admittedly their relationship had lasted over six months, but for most of that time Liam had treated her like another one of his sisters—someone to be patted on the head when she did something right, or shouted at when she did something wrong.
Why on earth would Liam have told his mother about her?
Yet another fact from the past that needed explaining. By the time the two of them had finished explaining themselves, there would be nothing left!
‘That was absolutely delicious, Amy,’ Liam told the housekeeper warmly as she took away their used plates before putting cheese and a pot of coffee on the table.
‘Thank you, Mr O’Reilly,’ Amy accepted before turning to Laura. ‘I’ll clear away in the kitchen, check on Bobby, and then call it a night, if that’s okay with you, Mrs Shipley?’
It wasn’t okay with her, it meant she would be left on her own with Liam, but, like her, Amy had had a long and tiring day and deserved some time to herself.
Bobby had been bathed and in bed for over an hour now, having insisted Liam join them for his story. Just as if they were a real family, Laura had realised. This situation was definitely getting out of hand!
And maybe the sooner it was settled—in whatever way!—the better it would be for all of them.
Nevertheless, Laura felt her stomach give a nervous lurch as Amy closed the dining room door softly behind her as she left.
‘You should know me well enough by now, Laura, to know that I don’t bite!’
She looked up at Liam, instantly looking away again as she saw from his teasing expression that he had meant the remark in a double-edged way; he wasn’t about to verbally attack her just because they were now alone, but at the same time he was reminding her of the fact that he had been a passionate but gentle lover eight years ago…!
‘It never occurred to me to think you might,’ she lied—having no idea how the rest of this evening was going to go!
‘No?’ he mocked lightly. ‘I don’t know about you, but I don’t care for any cheese… Shall we take the coffee through to the sitting room, then?’ he suggested after she confirmed she wanted nothing else to eat either.
Why not? It might only delay the dreaded moment for a couple of minutes, but it would delay it…
Liam didn’t sit down once they were ensconced in the sitting room, but prowled around the room, as if he were reluctant to begin this conversation too.
He came to a halt beside the dresser at the back of the room, lifting one of the many photographs from its surface, looking down to study the picture intently.
Laura squeezed her eyes shut, knowing exactly which photograph he was looking at; it had been taken shortly after Bobby was born. Laura was sitting on the arm of one of the chairs in this room, Robert was seated in the chair and Bobby nestled contentedly in his arms.
‘You look a happy family.’ Liam spoke gruffly.
Laura opened her eyes to look across at him, but found herself unable to read anything from Liam’s closed expression. ‘We were,’ she confirmed quietly.
Liam gave an abrupt inclination of his head. ‘Robert was a good father?’
She swallowed hard. ‘He was,’ she confirmed, aware they were both talking around the real point at issue. But at least they were talking.
‘And a good husband?’
Her head rose challengingly. ‘I’ve already told you that he was,’ she answered.
Liam nodded slowly, replacing the photograph. ‘I’m glad.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You are?’
His gaze was shuttered as he gave her a considering look. ‘Didn’t you think I would be?’
Laura shook her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she told him truthfully.
He gave a rueful smile. ‘I’ve never wished you anything but happiness, Laura. Never. Do you believe me?’
How could she? He had become the sole reason for her happiness eight years ago, and six months later he had cruelly walked out of her life!
‘Obviously not,’ Liam acknowledged at her silence. ‘Laura, eight years ago you were still a child—’
‘I was over twenty-one,’ she protested.
‘Sixteen going on twenty-one,’ Liam corrected softly. ‘When your parents died they left you in an emotional time-warp of the age you were when they died—’
‘That’s utter nonsense, Liam, and you know it,’ Laura declared.
‘No, I don’t?’ He gave a firm shake of his head. ‘Sixteen is a terrible age to lose both your parents. Admittedly you had a guardian who could take over the financial side of your life, but emotionally you had been left in wilderness.’ He gave another shake of his head. ‘I had no idea of any of this when I first met you; how could I? But it rapidly became obvious to me that you were badly in need of someone to love. And for someone to love you.’
‘And that wasn’t part of your immediate plans, was it?’
‘Laura,’ he began patiently, ‘you have no idea how I felt eight years ago. You weren’t mature enough—’
‘Oh, please!’ She stood up impatiently. ‘Don’t try and blame any of what happened then on my so-called immaturity. I didn’t see that stopping you when you made love to me!’
Liam drew in a harsh breath. ‘Nothing could have stopped me the night—that one and only night!—I made love to you,’ he admitted ‘You had been in my life, every part of it, for almost six months. There, with your sensual allure, your undoubted beauty, your complete acceptance of who and what I was. Once I began to touch you that night, kiss you,
I could no more have stopped either of those things than I could have stopped breathing!’
‘You said it had been a mistake.’ Laura shakily recalled his words of rejection the following morning. ‘That it must never happen again.’
And it hadn’t. It hadn’t needed to. Bobby had been conceived from that single night of physical love between Liam and herself.
And Liam had left her life before she had even had a chance to share that knowledge with him…
‘Obviously you’d had what you wanted, found it unsatisfactory, and simply moved on,’ she bit out caustically, the words cutting into her like knives.
Liam’s expression was dark with anger. ‘Obviously you don’t know a thing about how I felt after that night!’ he shot back.
She eyed him scathingly. ‘Triumphant, I expect.’
Liam stepped forward, grasping the tops of her arms. ‘You were a virgin until that night, Laura. And I—I had taken that precious gift from you. Triumph didn’t even enter into how I felt the next morning when I woke to find you beside me in my bed!’
Laura closed her eyes against the fury of Liam’s face.
They had been out to celebrate that evening, Liam having signed the contract that day to go to Los Angeles and write the screenplay of his book. They had drunk too much champagne, already high enough on Liam’s success. It had seemed the most natural thing in the world that the two of them should make love with each other when they returned to Liam’s apartment. At least, it had seemed natural to Laura…
‘I should never have drunk as much champagne as I did.’ He scowled.
She opened her eyes to look up at him frowningly. ‘What happened between us had nothing to do with the champagne.’ She shook her head protestingly. ‘It was always going to happen. I’m just surprised it took as long as it did,’ she added, knowing she had fallen in love with Liam, had wanted him physically, from their second time of meeting. Liam had always been the one who held back.
Was this way? Had he really believed her too young and vulnerable to know what she was doing?
Liam’s expression was grim as he thrust her away from him. ‘It wasn’t supposed to happen. I had told myself it wasn’t going to. I was too old for you—’
‘You’re only ten years older than me, Liam, not Methuselah,’ she said, her arms tingling where he had held her so tightly.
‘In terms of experience I was totally out of line continuing my friendship with you at all!’ he told her grimly. ‘And I don’t just mean physical experience,’ he added at her derisive expression. ‘I left Ireland when I was nineteen, came to live in London, found success with my writing. Those years before I met you I lived my life to the full. In every way.’
‘And then stupidly naïve me came into your life,’ Laura realised. ‘Following you everywhere. Worming my way into every part of your life.’
‘It wasn’t like that at all, and you know it.’ His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘I liked having you there, came to look forward to the time we spent together. Too much! Because I was aware that you already had a blinkered adoration for your guardian, the man who had come to your rescue when you were left alone in the world. I also knew that I was rapidly taking on that same untouchable role in your eyes, of someone you thought could do no wrong—’
‘Liam, that is utter nonsense,’ Laura cut in incredulously.
‘I was far from perfect,’ he said.
Laura frowned. ‘How I felt about you bore no relation to how I felt about—my guardian,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Yes, I adored him. How could I not? I had known him all my life; he was a friend of my parents. I told you he had always been an honorary uncle,’ she added exasperatedly as Liam continued to look unconvinced.
‘I know I learnt to be jealous of the man; you talked about him incessantly,’ Liam said. ‘Uncle Rob this and Uncle Rob that.’
‘I loved him!’ she cried exasperately. ‘He was the kindest, most wonderful man I’ve…’ Her voice trailed off as she saw Liam look at her sharply, a dawning recognition appearing in those intelligent blue eyes.
Liam swallowed hard. ‘I seem to have heard that description somewhere before…’ he said slowly.
Laura was flustered now, remembering all too well where he had heard it before! The question was, was Liam remembering it too…?
He was breathing shallowly, his searching gaze never leaving the paleness of her face as he obviously tried to come to grips with a realisation that just seemed too incredible to take in.
‘I’ve been a fool, haven’t I?’ He finally spoke slowly. ‘A complete and utter damned fool.’ His voice hardened angrily.
She hadn’t meant him to find out like this, had wanted to explain the situation to him quietly and calmly. Unfortunately, those two things had never been too near the surface in her dealings with Liam!
‘I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been,’ he continued self-disgustedly. ‘I was just so bowled over when I met you again. I didn’t connect— Guardian Uncle Rob. Husband Robert. They’re one and the same person, aren’t they?’ he breathed incredulously.
Laura stared at him wordlessly, feeling the colour slowly drain from her face.
‘Aren’t they?’ He moved swiftly, grasping her arms again. ‘Answer me!’
His face was only inches away from her own, bombarding her with the full force of his anger.
She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand, Liam—’
‘Robert Shipley was your guardian, wasn’t he?’ he ground out fiercely. ‘The adored Uncle Rob you talked about all the time?’
‘Yes!’ she burst out forcefully, the tears beginning to fall hotly down her cheeks now.
Liam thrust her away from him, staring at her disbelievingly. ‘I thought—believed— I’ve been making an idiot of myself, haven’t I?’ he exclaimed impatiently as he moved away.
‘Where are you going?’ she choked as he strode over to the door.
He looked back at her with glacial eyes. ‘As far away from here as possible!’
‘But—’
‘Don’t say another word, Laura,’ Liam bit out in a dangerously controlled voice. ‘Not another word. I won’t be held responsible for the consequences if you do!’
She watched mutely as he swung the sitting room door back with a bang. The slam of the front door seconds later told her that he had gone. Never to return, probably.
And with that realisation came the knowledge that she still hadn’t told him about Bobby, his son…!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SHE hadn’t told him anything that mattered!
That, much as she had loved Robert, it hadn’t been in the way she loved Liam. That Robert hadn’t loved her in a romantic way either. That, as well as trying to help her once she had told him she was expecting Liam’s baby, Robert had seen their marriage as a way of having the family he would never have had otherwise.
Liam had left before she could tell him any of that. Before she could explain.
She sat down, wondering what to do next. That Liam would never willingly come near her again she was certain. And he had to know the truth. No matter what the consequences, he had to finally know that. After the last few days she knew she owed that to Bobby as much as anyone else…
It didn’t take long to organise herself—to check with the hotel Liam had stayed at previously and find that he had booked in there again earlier today, to knock on the door to Amy’s flat and ask her to mind Bobby while she just popped out for a short time, to get her car out of the garage and drive to Liam’s hotel. Before she lost her nerve!
That Liam would be reluctant to see her she didn’t doubt. But he had to hear what she wanted to say. Not because she thought there was any chance left between the two of them, but because Bobby, without even knowing who Liam really was, had grown to love him. Her marriage seven and a half years ago had been to give Bobby a father, and, no matter what it cost her, she couldn’t do less for him now.
‘I believe I saw Mr O’Reilly go through to the bar
a short time ago.’ The pretty hotel receptionist answered her query brightly.
Laura was sure that if that was what this young lady believed, then it was true; Liam’s attractiveness certainly hadn’t dimmed over the years!
‘Thank you.’ She smiled distractedly, her steps reluctant as she walked towards the hotel bar. If Liam was drinking again…!
Do it, Laura, she told herself firmly. You came here to talk to him, and that’s what you’re going to do.
He sat alone in a corner booth of the dimly lit bar, a glass of what looked like whisky in front of him. Untouched whisky, if the high level in the glass was any indication.
Laura came to a halt beside his table, managing to remain unmoving as, sensing her presence, he looked up at her, his gaze instantly fiercely angry.
‘What do you want?’ he demanded unpleasantly, the lines about his eyes and mouth more pronounced.
What she really wanted was for him to sit there and listen while she talked, saying nothing in response to anything she said, and then for him to let her leave again!
‘Can I join you?’ she said quietly.
‘Why not? It’s a free country. Although there are plenty of empty tables if you just want a drink.’
‘I don’t.’ She slid onto the bench-seat opposite his in the booth. ‘You left earlier before I had finished talking,’ she explained softly.
His gaze was scathing as he straightened, one hand reaching out, the fingers curling about the glass of whisky. ‘Don’t look so worried,’ he derided as she gave a wary glance at the glass. ‘I ordered this twenty minutes ago and I haven’t touched any of it yet!’ But there’s still time, his words seemed to imply!
Laura sighed heavily, shaking her head in the direction of the young barman as he came over to see if she would like a drink; she already knew she wasn’t going to enjoy the next few minutes, and Dutch courage wasn’t going to help!
She drew in a deep breath. ‘Liam, there are—things about my marriage that you can’t possibly be aware of,’ she began carefully. ‘Circumstances that—’
‘Are we talking about Bobby?’ he cut in harshly.
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